THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 14th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CXXXVII
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Fronstretch at the Track: Amy Henderson will be live at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races. Stay tuned to Facebook, Twitter (@Writer_Amy and @TheFrontstretch) as well as the Breaking News box for all of the latest information coming out of this weekend's events.
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Top News
by Amy Henderson
Kyle Busch Takes Pole for LENOX Industrial Tools 301
Kyle Busch was fast all day long on Friday, leading the only Sprint Cup practice of the day as well as the final practice session for Saturday's 200-lap Nationwide Series race. And despite almost slapping the wall on his qualifying lap, Busch topped the charts there, too. Busch will start from the pole on Sunday at New Hampshire, where track position is a huge advantage. It's Busch's ninth career pole and his first at New Hampshire His 28.548-second lap bested second-place Kasey Kahne by just three one-thousandths of a second, but that was enough to get the job done. Kahne will start outside row 1 on Sunday, with Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Jr. and Clint Bowyer rounding out the top 5.
Ryan Newman, who won this race a year ago and has three wins at New Hampshire, will start sixth, with another three-time Loudon winner, Jimmie Johnson starts seventh. Henderick Mortorsports equipment fills the rest of the top ten for Sunday's race with Jeff Gordon eighth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ninth and Tony Stewart 10th.
Silk On Pole for Town Fair Tire 100
Defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ron Silk will start the Town Fair Tire 100 from the pole after turning a lap around New Hampshire Motor Speedway in just 29.492 seconds in his Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Schnitzer Modified. That's less than a second off of Kyle Busch's Sprint Cup pole speed. Ryan Preece, Doug Coby, Eric Berndt, and Sprint Cup regular Ryan Newman round out the top 5.
The rest of the top 10 includes rookie Keith Rocco, Bryon Chew, Rowan Pennink, seven-time series champion Mike Stefanik, and Todd Szegedy. Part-time Nationwide Series driver Ryan Blaney qualified 11th.
One New Hampshire Town Could Receive $20,000 for Education
New Hampshire Motor Speedway announced the "Race to Benefit Education" as a part of the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Weekend. 26 Sprint Cup drivers were paired with 13 of the state's largest towns and cities, and if one of them wins on Sunday, the town they represent will win $20,000 for its schools.
The program was conceived as a way to get local towns excited about racing at NHMS and for the track to give back to the New Hampshire community. "We thought it would be a great way to get towns to pay attention to the race, cheer for a driver, and then receive some much-needed funding for their programs. I think this is something we can so every year and eventually have full coverage of New Hampshire and build some more race fans throughout this great state," said Jerry Gappens, Executive Vice President and General Manager of NHMS.
The towns represented in this year's race include Berlin, Claremont, Concord, Dover, Frankiln, Keene, Laconia, Lebonon, Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Rochester, and Somersworth. Each city will have two drivers and therefore two chances to win. Lebanon was randomly awarded the first pick, and City Councilor Sue Prentiss chose Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya to race for the city. Prentiss credits the fans for helping her decide. "I talked to race fans that I know and Tony Stewart has done well in New Hampshire previously, and I couldn't turn down the opportunity to pick Tony," Prentiss said. Stewart is a three-time Loudon winner.
Presented by Frontstretch.com
The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
July 14th, 2012
Volume VI, Edition CXXXVII
~~~~~~~~~~
Fronstretch at the Track: Amy Henderson will be live at New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend for the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races. Stay tuned to Facebook, Twitter (@Writer_Amy and @TheFrontstretch) as well as the Breaking News box for all of the latest information coming out of this weekend's events.
~~~~~~~~~~
Top News
by Amy Henderson
Kyle Busch Takes Pole for LENOX Industrial Tools 301
Kyle Busch was fast all day long on Friday, leading the only Sprint Cup practice of the day as well as the final practice session for Saturday's 200-lap Nationwide Series race. And despite almost slapping the wall on his qualifying lap, Busch topped the charts there, too. Busch will start from the pole on Sunday at New Hampshire, where track position is a huge advantage. It's Busch's ninth career pole and his first at New Hampshire His 28.548-second lap bested second-place Kasey Kahne by just three one-thousandths of a second, but that was enough to get the job done. Kahne will start outside row 1 on Sunday, with Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Jr. and Clint Bowyer rounding out the top 5.
Ryan Newman, who won this race a year ago and has three wins at New Hampshire, will start sixth, with another three-time Loudon winner, Jimmie Johnson starts seventh. Henderick Mortorsports equipment fills the rest of the top ten for Sunday's race with Jeff Gordon eighth, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ninth and Tony Stewart 10th.
Silk On Pole for Town Fair Tire 100
Defending NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour champion Ron Silk will start the Town Fair Tire 100 from the pole after turning a lap around New Hampshire Motor Speedway in just 29.492 seconds in his Reynolds Auto Wrecking/Schnitzer Modified. That's less than a second off of Kyle Busch's Sprint Cup pole speed. Ryan Preece, Doug Coby, Eric Berndt, and Sprint Cup regular Ryan Newman round out the top 5.
The rest of the top 10 includes rookie Keith Rocco, Bryon Chew, Rowan Pennink, seven-time series champion Mike Stefanik, and Todd Szegedy. Part-time Nationwide Series driver Ryan Blaney qualified 11th.
One New Hampshire Town Could Receive $20,000 for Education
New Hampshire Motor Speedway announced the "Race to Benefit Education" as a part of the LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Weekend. 26 Sprint Cup drivers were paired with 13 of the state's largest towns and cities, and if one of them wins on Sunday, the town they represent will win $20,000 for its schools.
The program was conceived as a way to get local towns excited about racing at NHMS and for the track to give back to the New Hampshire community. "We thought it would be a great way to get towns to pay attention to the race, cheer for a driver, and then receive some much-needed funding for their programs. I think this is something we can so every year and eventually have full coverage of New Hampshire and build some more race fans throughout this great state," said Jerry Gappens, Executive Vice President and General Manager of NHMS.
The towns represented in this year's race include Berlin, Claremont, Concord, Dover, Frankiln, Keene, Laconia, Lebonon, Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth, Rochester, and Somersworth. Each city will have two drivers and therefore two chances to win. Lebanon was randomly awarded the first pick, and City Councilor Sue Prentiss chose Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya to race for the city. Prentiss credits the fans for helping her decide. "I talked to race fans that I know and Tony Stewart has done well in New Hampshire previously, and I couldn't turn down the opportunity to pick Tony," Prentiss said. Stewart is a three-time Loudon winner.
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~~~~~~~~~~
SOUND BITES FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
as compiled by Amy Henderson
"I think that whole [No.] 14 team and what they did last year showed all of us that it's not over until it's over. If you can make it into the Chase, truly, just by making it in, you have as good a shot as anyone for the championship. None of this stuff right now matters, other than it puts you in the Chase or it doesn't. I think that's a really good point you bring up. I think all of us in the garage look at Tony and what that [No.] 14 team did last year and we all feel like we could do the same thing, we just need that opportunity. That's where our team is right now. It's not where we expected to be, but it's where we're at and hopefully we can do as well as those guys did." - Carl Edwards on Tony Stewart's championship run after a winless regular season in 2011 and whether that gives the No. 99 team hope for 2012
"A lot is different between last season and this season. Probably the first and foremost is the crew chief. My PR person brought it to my attention that this is our one-year anniversary as she calls it of getting a new crew chief, Matt Puccia. And then at the end of the season Matt changed the team up a whole bunch, figured out what our weaknesses were, where we needed to be better, and over the winter kind of overhauled the team. Starting this season in 2012, about four guys of the 15-18 that made up the [No.] 16 were back and the rest were new guys kind of cherry-picked throughout the company and, of course, we closed a team at the end of the season, so some of the guys came from there. We've got a great group of guys, they built better cars." - Greg Biffle on the difference between 2011 and 2012 for the No. 16 team
""It felt really good. I liked it a lot. I would have like to have gotten a little more sleep and not been as dehydrated when it started. I started cramping up on the bike and then had to do the run after that. But still, when I finished it felt really good and I was happy I did it. I had to talk to myself the last mile of the run and I was like just stop; just slow down (laughs) and I had to tell myself do not slow down, just keep going. I was surprised that I beat Jimmie. He's in great shape and he trained hard for that. But he was under the same circumstance. He was cramping also coming off the race the night before, and he also hit a wall so that probably even made it worse for him. But yeah, it felt good to get it finished." - Kasey Kahne on competing in a South Carolina triathlon last week with teammate Jimmie Johnson
"We've improved a ton. When you think about when I first came over to the program how much the program has changed, how much it's grown. Bob Germain has put a lot of time and effort into this program and getting it to where it is today. We finally are starting to hit our stride a little bit. This wasn't a very good lap. It was really slick and loose in, but in the races leading up to this we've really improved by leaps and bounds. I'm real proud of the direction it's going. We still have a lot of growing yet to do, but the GEICO Ford is going in the right direction. When I got my rental car today it had 13 miles on it and it's Friday the 13th and I drive the 13 car, so you definitely think about that kind of stuff, but, so far, it's been going in the right direction." - Casey Mears on his team's recent improvements and whether he's superstitious about the number 13
""We really had to thrash to get here and we didn't have a lot of time to spare to be able to work on this thing. We never tested it and I obviously have never been in one of them before, so to come to a place like Loudon where it's all chassis and aero taking an effect and run a lap like that wasn't too bad. It wasn't the greatest lap because the car got tight on us. We were a lot better earlier today and weren't able to back it up, but it was good enough to get in and it's my first Sprint Cup race." - Kelly Bires on qualifying for his first Sprint Cup race
"But when you go in that room to have a drug test – and I've never taken drugs in my life, I'm scared s***less of it and it's honestly a phobia of mine – I go in that room and I'm still scared. Because you know if something goes wrong, it's a death sentence for your career. It's over. And it's in human hands, and by the very nature of it being in human hands, there's a potential for error." - Brad Keselowski on taking a NASCAR drug test
"Well, there are definitely moments in the heat of the moment, especially, when you sense the frustration and it comes out in things you say on the radio or how you handle some of those situations behind closed doors. But, when it comes to how to handle it publicly, I just don't think it does the team or myself or anybody any good to handle that negatively. And so whatever frustrations and challenges that we've been dealt this year, we've just continued to try to handle internally. And I would say that there has been very little questioning of anyone. It's really been just how do we turn these great runs into great results. Obviously what makes that even more challenging as the weeks go by and you don't get the results and the fans, the media, the social media and all those things start to weigh on you heavily. So, it's nice to have a lot of support out there as well, like our sponsors and our fans. But most importantly, it's what the team does. This team is one that has gotten through some pretty tough times this year and has stuck together." - Jeff Gordon on how his team is handling a disappointing season
""Man, I don't know what it is. But I have to say I sit back and admire the way he carries himself on and off the track and the way he leads his team and the way he leads all of us at Hendrick Motorsports. The position he's been in has been tough. He's handled it really, really well. I look at him and I feel like it's probably weighing on him. But I feel it would be much more visible on my face than it is on his. So when I see him at team meetings and I see him around, his positive outlook and confidence he has in himself and his team, I sit there and admire that. He's handling it as well as anybody could. I know he's eager to get out of this situation. So hopefully that happens soon." - Jimmie Johnson on Jeff Gordon's season and Gordon's outlook
""I just like racing here. I always run really well here and we had the good fortune of tire testing with Goodyear a couple of months ago and that went really well. We were happy with the way that went. I've just been looking forward to coming here for the race. Like I said we have had some really good cars here and I feel like this is one of my better tracks. I just hope to eventually get to victory lane one day. This weekend is as good as any." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on racing at Loudon
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Editor's Note: Frontstretch has a brand new, redesigned Facebook page. Click Here to "Like" Us and get a direct connect to all your Frontstretch favorites along with polls, interaction with fans and so much more.
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ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Drivers Not Rushing to Judge Allmendinger - And Neither Should We
by Amy Henderson
~~~~~~~~~~
Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Race Recap by Jeff Wolfe
-- Secret Star and Stat of the Race by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Monday on the Frontstretch:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: LENOX Industrial Tools 301 by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Sunday afternoon's race from New Hampshire.
Monday Morning Teardown by TBA
A website look at one of the big stories from Sunday's race from New Hampshire.
Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom brings back his weekly post-race commentary with all of the insight you need from a weekend of racing at New Hampshire.
Big Six: LENOX Industrial Tools 301 by Amy Henderson
Looking for all you need to know leaving Sunday's event at New Hampshire? Amy has your who, what, when, where, why and how from a weekend of racing.
Pace Laps: New Hampshire / Iowa Weekend by the Frontstretch Staff
In our newest column this season, we'll take a look at the biggest stories to keep an eye on in each series after a weekend in New Hampshire and Iowa.
Nationwide Breakdown: F.W. Webb 200 by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan has all the post-race analysis you need following Saturday afternoon's Nationwide Series race from New Hampshire.
Tracking the Trucks: American Ethanol 200 by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth has all the post-race analysis you need following Saturday night's Camping World Truck Series standalone race from Iowa.
-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
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~~~~~~~~~~
SOUND BITES FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
as compiled by Amy Henderson
"I think that whole [No.] 14 team and what they did last year showed all of us that it's not over until it's over. If you can make it into the Chase, truly, just by making it in, you have as good a shot as anyone for the championship. None of this stuff right now matters, other than it puts you in the Chase or it doesn't. I think that's a really good point you bring up. I think all of us in the garage look at Tony and what that [No.] 14 team did last year and we all feel like we could do the same thing, we just need that opportunity. That's where our team is right now. It's not where we expected to be, but it's where we're at and hopefully we can do as well as those guys did." - Carl Edwards on Tony Stewart's championship run after a winless regular season in 2011 and whether that gives the No. 99 team hope for 2012
"A lot is different between last season and this season. Probably the first and foremost is the crew chief. My PR person brought it to my attention that this is our one-year anniversary as she calls it of getting a new crew chief, Matt Puccia. And then at the end of the season Matt changed the team up a whole bunch, figured out what our weaknesses were, where we needed to be better, and over the winter kind of overhauled the team. Starting this season in 2012, about four guys of the 15-18 that made up the [No.] 16 were back and the rest were new guys kind of cherry-picked throughout the company and, of course, we closed a team at the end of the season, so some of the guys came from there. We've got a great group of guys, they built better cars." - Greg Biffle on the difference between 2011 and 2012 for the No. 16 team
""It felt really good. I liked it a lot. I would have like to have gotten a little more sleep and not been as dehydrated when it started. I started cramping up on the bike and then had to do the run after that. But still, when I finished it felt really good and I was happy I did it. I had to talk to myself the last mile of the run and I was like just stop; just slow down (laughs) and I had to tell myself do not slow down, just keep going. I was surprised that I beat Jimmie. He's in great shape and he trained hard for that. But he was under the same circumstance. He was cramping also coming off the race the night before, and he also hit a wall so that probably even made it worse for him. But yeah, it felt good to get it finished." - Kasey Kahne on competing in a South Carolina triathlon last week with teammate Jimmie Johnson
"We've improved a ton. When you think about when I first came over to the program how much the program has changed, how much it's grown. Bob Germain has put a lot of time and effort into this program and getting it to where it is today. We finally are starting to hit our stride a little bit. This wasn't a very good lap. It was really slick and loose in, but in the races leading up to this we've really improved by leaps and bounds. I'm real proud of the direction it's going. We still have a lot of growing yet to do, but the GEICO Ford is going in the right direction. When I got my rental car today it had 13 miles on it and it's Friday the 13th and I drive the 13 car, so you definitely think about that kind of stuff, but, so far, it's been going in the right direction." - Casey Mears on his team's recent improvements and whether he's superstitious about the number 13
""We really had to thrash to get here and we didn't have a lot of time to spare to be able to work on this thing. We never tested it and I obviously have never been in one of them before, so to come to a place like Loudon where it's all chassis and aero taking an effect and run a lap like that wasn't too bad. It wasn't the greatest lap because the car got tight on us. We were a lot better earlier today and weren't able to back it up, but it was good enough to get in and it's my first Sprint Cup race." - Kelly Bires on qualifying for his first Sprint Cup race
"But when you go in that room to have a drug test – and I've never taken drugs in my life, I'm scared s***less of it and it's honestly a phobia of mine – I go in that room and I'm still scared. Because you know if something goes wrong, it's a death sentence for your career. It's over. And it's in human hands, and by the very nature of it being in human hands, there's a potential for error." - Brad Keselowski on taking a NASCAR drug test
"Well, there are definitely moments in the heat of the moment, especially, when you sense the frustration and it comes out in things you say on the radio or how you handle some of those situations behind closed doors. But, when it comes to how to handle it publicly, I just don't think it does the team or myself or anybody any good to handle that negatively. And so whatever frustrations and challenges that we've been dealt this year, we've just continued to try to handle internally. And I would say that there has been very little questioning of anyone. It's really been just how do we turn these great runs into great results. Obviously what makes that even more challenging as the weeks go by and you don't get the results and the fans, the media, the social media and all those things start to weigh on you heavily. So, it's nice to have a lot of support out there as well, like our sponsors and our fans. But most importantly, it's what the team does. This team is one that has gotten through some pretty tough times this year and has stuck together." - Jeff Gordon on how his team is handling a disappointing season
""Man, I don't know what it is. But I have to say I sit back and admire the way he carries himself on and off the track and the way he leads his team and the way he leads all of us at Hendrick Motorsports. The position he's been in has been tough. He's handled it really, really well. I look at him and I feel like it's probably weighing on him. But I feel it would be much more visible on my face than it is on his. So when I see him at team meetings and I see him around, his positive outlook and confidence he has in himself and his team, I sit there and admire that. He's handling it as well as anybody could. I know he's eager to get out of this situation. So hopefully that happens soon." - Jimmie Johnson on Jeff Gordon's season and Gordon's outlook
""I just like racing here. I always run really well here and we had the good fortune of tire testing with Goodyear a couple of months ago and that went really well. We were happy with the way that went. I've just been looking forward to coming here for the race. Like I said we have had some really good cars here and I feel like this is one of my better tracks. I just hope to eventually get to victory lane one day. This weekend is as good as any." - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on racing at Loudon
~~~~~~~~~~
Editor's Note: Frontstretch has a brand new, redesigned Facebook page. Click Here to "Like" Us and get a direct connect to all your Frontstretch favorites along with polls, interaction with fans and so much more.
~~~~~~~~~~
ADVERTISEMENT
Are you looking to advertise your website, product or brand? A good way to get your name out there is via direct advertising here in the Frontstretch Newsletter! Interested parties can contact us at tony.lumbis@frontstretch.com for details.
~~~~~~~~~~
TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
Drivers Not Rushing to Judge Allmendinger - And Neither Should We
by Amy Henderson
~~~~~~~~~~
Coming Monday in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- LENOX Industrial Tools 301 Race Recap by Jeff Wolfe
-- Secret Star and Stat of the Race by Tom Bowles
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
Monday on the Frontstretch:
Matt McLaughlin's Thinkin' Out Loud: LENOX Industrial Tools 301 by Matt McLaughlin
Matt will be here with his overall thoughts about the action from Sunday afternoon's race from New Hampshire.
Monday Morning Teardown by TBA
A website look at one of the big stories from Sunday's race from New Hampshire.
Bowles-Eye View by Tom Bowles
Tom brings back his weekly post-race commentary with all of the insight you need from a weekend of racing at New Hampshire.
Big Six: LENOX Industrial Tools 301 by Amy Henderson
Looking for all you need to know leaving Sunday's event at New Hampshire? Amy has your who, what, when, where, why and how from a weekend of racing.
Pace Laps: New Hampshire / Iowa Weekend by the Frontstretch Staff
In our newest column this season, we'll take a look at the biggest stories to keep an eye on in each series after a weekend in New Hampshire and Iowa.
Nationwide Breakdown: F.W. Webb 200 by Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan has all the post-race analysis you need following Saturday afternoon's Nationwide Series race from New Hampshire.
Tracking the Trucks: American Ethanol 200 by Beth Lunkenheimer
Beth has all the post-race analysis you need following Saturday night's Camping World Truck Series standalone race from Iowa.
-----------------------------
Talk back to the Frontstretch Newsletter!
Got something to say about an article you've seen in the newsletter? It's as easy as replying directly to this message or sending an email to editors@frontstretch.com. We'll take the best comments and publish them here!
©2012 Frontstretch.com
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